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‘Reign’ Season 2 Episode 11 Recap: “Getaway”

The return of Reign in Episode 11 “Getaway” sees Mary (Adelaide Kane) still suffering from her PTSD after being raped. She is also still holding firm that she and Francis (Toby Regbo) should live separate lives, though he continues to try and find ways to see her.

When Francis brings Mary wood for her fire, to stave off the cold winter nights, Mary reminds him of her wishes and tells him she knows he is trying to connect with her. It is then Mary tells him she wants to go to their winter castle to get away for a while.

Mary’s intention to leave sets up what happens with Conde (Sean Teale). A woman, whom Conde had an affair with, reports to the Cardinal visiting French court that Conde has the mark of the rebel Protestants. The Cardinal, hoping to use the Protestant witch hunt to further his career, goes after Conde.

Fearing for his safety, Mary offers him her carriage and sneaks Conde out of the Castle. She, Greer (Celina Sinden), and Leith (Jonathan Keltz) plan to sneak Conde across the border to where his brother is residing.

Kenna (Caitlin Stasey) suspects Queen Catherine (Megan Follows) is poisoning Princess Claude (Rose Williams) after meeting Catherine in the hallway and noticing a strange smell from the soup Catherine is bringing to Claude. Catherine, by the way, is falling deeper into some form of insanity as she is now not only seeing her dead twin daughters but also her dead husband, King Henry.

Francis tries combat the Cardinal, hoping to – in some way – assist Mary after he finds out she has whisked Conde away to save him from the Cardinal’s persecution. He and Bash (Torrance Coombs) come up with a plan to brand the Cardinal’s cleric, who is also his male lover. They hope the Cardinal will back down from his proclamation that anyone bearing the mark is a Protestant rebel.

Claude, who at the beginning of the episode is at death’s door, slowly gets better when Kenna comes in and conveniently spills the bowls of soup Catherine brings to Claude. When Kenna confronts Claude with her theory that Catherine is poisoning her, Claude lashes out and spills the secret that she and Bash (her half-brother and Kenna’s husband) used to be lovers.

Safely arriving to where Conde’s brother is, Mary tells Conde that she read the letter he sent her – revealing his feelings for her. She vows to forget the contents.

When the Vatican sends guards after Conde to arrest him, Mary comes up with a brilliant plan to burn off Conde’s mark. She has Leif brand him with Conde’s sword, burning off the mark. This action casts doubt on whether he has the mark, and forces the Vatican guards to take Conde back to French court, and back to the Cardinal.

While holding Conde’s hand, through the pain of being branded, Mary realizes she didn’t fall apart with human contact and feels she might find her way back to Francis physically.

Back at court, Francis and Bash try to pressure the Cardinal into changing his stance, now that his lover is being accused. The Cardinal’s cleric lover admitted, as he was being arrested, that he has cut his assailant, Bash. When the Cardinal finds out what Bash has done, he confronts Francis, threatening to crush both Francis and France. Francis stands up to the Cardinal, saying that if he does then the Cardinal’s cleric lover will die.

The Cardinal eventually backs down and when Conde arrives back at court, with Mary in tow, the charges are dropped against him.

Mary, feeling more optimistic about her relationship with Francis, changes her mind again when she finds Francis in bed with Lola, and their son between them. It had been very innocent, as Francis had come to see her and soothed the infant, but Mary doesn’t know that.

Claude finally confronts Catherine about poisoning her. Catherine then tells her she knows Claude killed her twin sisters when she was five. Claude claims she didn’t do it, but Catherine doesn’t believe her. In the end, the ghostly Henry and the twins come to Catherine and continue to pronounce that Claude must die.